November 5, 2012

Improvements at Chehalem Aquatic & Fitness Center

The lighting in the pool has been completely replaced with
energy efficient lighting throughout the facility. The new lights over the pool
use a new type of lighting technology called magnetic induction lighting. The
wattage is less than our current lighting, but the light is brighter. The
lights use less energy than what was originally installed back in 1970. The
bulbs do not lose their light levels over the years and have a working life of
18 years without need for bulb replacement. The new lighting was made possible
with a grant from the Energy Trust. The payback for these new lights is three
to five years, due to energy savings.

New Sundeck

Patrons may not realize that the aquatic center has a sundeck.Even though we are now into the winter
months, take a look out the back window by the diving board and see what you
can enjoy next summer. The old deck was surrounded by cyclone fencing with barbed
wire along the top – uninviting, to say the least! The new deck opens up into a
grass area where volleyball standards will be installed as well as tetherball.
The deck area has concrete ping-pong tables to play on year-round as well as a
children’s sand box for the summer months. New picnic tables with large
umbrellas will also appear on the deck this coming spring. None of these
improvements would have taken place with out community partners that donated
their time and money: special thanks to Newberg Early
Bird Rotary Club and TDP Landscaping, Ernst Nursery, and Raugust Trucking for
their generous donations, and to Diana Kay Kessler and Abby Wogenrich, for
painting the mural.

Aquatic Center
Master Plan

The aquatic center is now 43 years old and is feeling its
age. In order to maintain this community asset, major repairs will need to be
made in the future, most notably infrastructure repairs that the public cannot
see (underground plumbing, HVAC upgrades etc.)

We are also researching possible changes to the outside of
the building are also being researched, such as new driving entries and exits,
parking expansion as well as additional amenities connected to the center. As
our community grows, we are hoping that Chehalem Aquatic Center will meet our
changing needs.

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact
Park and Facilities Supervisor Jim McMaster at 503-209-2222 or
jmcmaster@cprdnewbeg.org.